Rubber plantations and their implications on gender roles and relations in northern uplands Vietnam

Abstract

In recent years, rubber plantations have been strongly promoted in the northern uplands of Vietnam–especially in the northwest, where it is an ill agro-ecological fit–with an aim to improve ethnic minority livelihoods and to modernize peasants by transforming them into rubber workers. A large area of land has been taken away from farmers to make way for rubber plantations. This land acquisition and agrarian transformation have impacted local people and their livelihoods in various ways. Drawing on ethnographic research, in combination with interviews with authorities and studying related documents, this article focuses on the gendered consequences of rubber plantation in northern uplands Vietnam. It argues that the process of becoming a rubber worker and adapting to the new way of living has indeed added new roles and responsibilities for women. At the same time, it has undermined men’s values and reshaped gender relations both within and outside the home.

Keywords:

• feminist political ecology
• Gender relations
• rubber plantation
• uplands
• Vietnam

Acknowledgements

I am very grateful to all my informants. Special thanks to Minh, Thuan, chi Lan and Linh for field research assistance. I thank the villagers for their hospitality during my stay. I also would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for who spent time reading and gave me valuable comments and suggestions.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nga Dao

Nga Dao is an assistant professor in the Department of Social Science, York University, Canada. My research interest centers broadly around issues of gender and development, and social and environmental change in the Global South, primarily in Southeast Asia with a particular focus on water, agrarian change, and social-environmental justice.